Forever Immortal
by BluHaze
Summary: The legend of Emrys is a childhood tale, but when it seems the legend is true, it turns Bella's world upside down. Will it ultimately lead to her demise? A tale of 2 parts. One immortal destined to wait for his love's return and one girl destined to die just to spend an eternity with him. *Not necessarily what you think...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

A great roaring fire sat at the end of the vast castle hall and was contained by a huge mouth of blackened stone. To its left and raised upon a dais, was the Great Table covered by a huge tablecloth and laden with lavish foods. Its centerpiece was a lawn, created by green jelly and within its center sat a gilded cage of live birds. Their ornate wings fluttered as they leapt and startled in the uproar of the celebratory feast. Surrounding them and their fancy lawn were other brightly coloured jellies depicting pheasants and peacocks. Seated at the center of the table, his presence great and awe-inspiring, sat King Emmett. With his crown seated upon dark brown curls and his intimidatingly tall and muscled body swathed in rich cloth, it was difficult to look away. His laughter was loud and free with the excitement that surrounded his return from battle and it was clear now how bleak the kingdom had been without him. To his right sat his wife, Queen Rosalie. A foreign princess dragged here on an arranged marriage that could not seemed to have been more perfectly manufactured. They were lucky and in love.

A metal pitcher was thrust into my hand, filled to the brim with a deep red wine. Remembering myself and my role in the kingdom, I swept off to the great table avoiding the disapproving look of the cook. Skirting the room and the bustling festivities I reached Lady Alice. She was a tiny creature, her body a pleasure for the dressmakers for its slight frame. Her beauty was unparalleled but by Queen Rosalie who, with her golden locks outshone everyone in the land. Or at least, such was the claim of the King. Lady Alice smiled and spoke merrily as she ate and I was pleased to see her enjoying her brother's return. As a princess in the court, she sat to King Emmet's left, their mother, Lady Esme, between them.

"Oh Bella!" She called, her voice still filled with laughter from her conversation with Sir Jasper, a knight in her brother's army. I stepped forward from where I was stood against the wall with the other servants and squires. "Come! Let's dance!" I opened my mouth to decline, but Lady Alice rushed on. "Do not deny me today. My brother is back victorious and alive and that stands for celebration. Come!" She was stood already, holding her slender hand open to me, the flared sleeves of her dress fluttering in the warm air of the hall. The pitcher of wine I had placed upon the table had not yet ready to be refilled and the food was all served but I was hesitant. Unwilling to endure my indecision, Lady Alice grabbed my hand and dragged me out onto the stone floor where a line of dancers were already assembling. I stumbled over the frayed hem of my work dress but she was not deterred and pulled me to the line. My Lady, took the hand of a fellow noble whilst I nervously took the hand of another male courtier then music began, and the line of dancers began to sing.

I clung to Alice's hand, self-consciously mumbling the words as my eyes searched the great table of nobles and royals. I should not be dancing, not when there was work at hand and certainly not with the nobles. The cook would rap my fingers for it. A few courtiers watched me, anger upon their faces, it was all too clear from my dirtied, ragged clothes that I was little more than a servant compared to the expensive cloth that adorned the nobles. None of those watching made to move though, my brazen actions were clearly the desire of the princess and whatever she wished was allowed to go unchallenged unless by the King.

Lady Alice's joy was infectious and it was not long before I too was laughing around the lyrics we sang. My dress swept across the floor, its fabric so much heavier than my Lady's and I grew hot yet I could not draw my hand from hers. As we moved round before the Great Table again, my sight settled on the King as he laughed and applauded the entertainment of the dance. Leaving the table, he moved to where the musicians gathered clapping his hand on the back of a lone man seated plucking the strings of an instrument I had never seen before. I had heard the unique sound woven into the music, but not the instrument that created it. The King, in a surprising act crouched down next to the man and spoke into his ear. The man smiled a crooked grin, his gaze never rising from where he observed his instrument. He should have stood for the King so he did not have to lower himself. The man's face was shadowed in the dark perimeter of the Great Hall and he kept it down turned throughout the dance and the next. As we wove by the musicians, my voice tiring in the third song, he lifted his head, his eyes snapping up to meet mine. From the darkness of his hood shone eyes of the deepest green, glittering like emeralds in the firelight. I stumbled, taken aback by the weight and ferocity of his gaze. I struggled to regain my balance and as the line wove back on itself, I turned to see the man again, but his eyes were once more upon his instrument.

Finally Alice tired also and we left the floor. Still holding hands we returned to the High Table and she took her seat. Grasping my hand she encouraged me down into the seat beside her. I glanced nervously for Lord Newton, whose seat I was sat upon, but could not see him.

"Rumour has it my brother returned with Emrys." She whispered conspiratorially. My attention snapped from where I had been searching for the noble and returned to the princess. She smiled at the manner in which her words captured my attention. The existence of Emrys was legend; a man who surpassed mortality and all its tethers. The name meant undying immortal and his birth was rumoured to predate all history known. Some say he was a great warrior and others that he had such magic at his disposal he could smite a nation. The legend of Emrys was a thing of childhood tales.

I smiled, "If the King has, then we should surely recognize Emrys for his beauty is unparalleled." I glanced about the room swiftly, "There are many beautiful men here, but none like Emrys." I said in a light, sing-song voice as I negated my friend's comment.

"How would you know?" Lady Alice challenged. "Have you ever seen Emrys?" We smiled both knowing I had not. The princess was a fanciful creature and fell in love with myths and legends. I knew she yearned for this new rumour to be true.

"If he is here my Lady, then nothing better to ensnare the attentions of a great wizard, than a beautiful princess." I whispered conspiratorially.

My Lady shook her head laughing, "Oh no, my heart would much rather a mortal man, such as Lord Whitlock." Our eyes drifted across the room to where King Emmett was now sat with his handsome, most trusted knight. My hand squeezed hers because, for many months my Lady had hoped for the attention of the knight.

A short while later, the King had returned to his seat at the great table and I was pouring more wine into Lady Alice's mug when he summoned the attention of the room. "I trust we have all feasted well?" He began to loud cheers. "I am glad to have returned to my kingdom in victory and ensured the safety of our lands." There was a resounding cheer, but the King continued on with little more than a smile of acknowledgement. "On my travels I was fortunate enough to cross paths with a man who offered me his services." At this he turned to look behind him, extending an arm back to beckon the hooded man behind him forwards. His other hand extended towards the rest of us gathered in the great hall. "I present to you Emrys!" The man stepped up beside the king, his hood now lowered.

From my place beside Alice, I could only see the side of his face, the strong jaw, sculpted nose and high cheekbones. His hair was unruly and the darkest bronze, darkened further by the shadows of the hall. His presence was met with a half second of awed silence until it shattered into an uproar of excitement, trepidation and disbelief. Amidst the clamor Emrys slowly sat, his face impassive, even as the King drew him into conversation.

Nervously, I began to help the other servants clear the high table. As I took plates of uneaten food away, Lady Alice snagged my hand once more and here eyes were wide. We exchanged a silent, awestruck glance before she giggled elatedly and I swiftly carried the plate of fish away.

Returning, the only thing left to clear was the cage of birds situated before the King. Unwilling to disturb him, but unable to get to it any other way, I stood next to where Emrys sat, "I am sorry My Lord." I murmured as I reached across for the birdcage. Emrys' answer was a half-laugh as he continued to watch the room, " I am no Lord or courtier, Olwen." His voice was rich and deep despite his murmured tones. Confused by his words, I continued to pull the cage towards me murmuring a soft apology. My fingers grasped the handle of the ornate cage tightly to avoid dropping it as my hands and arms shook with nervous weakness. Swiftly I left the table hurrying to the kitchen where I lowered the cage to the large wooden table. The birds chattered nervously, grateful at last to be free of the commotion of the Great Hall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

For days after the feast, the excited and fearful murmurs regarding Emrys' presence in court were rife. Few had seen him since that evening, but word had extended far beyond the castle and out into the town. Peasants were gathered at the gates begging to be healed from the illnesses that plagued the poorer community. Castle life, however, had not changed at all despite Emrys' presence. There were some who took it as a sign that the man from the feast was not Emrys and such a phantom did not exist despite King Emmett's claims.

I did not see him at all following that evening, yet a sense of restlessness washed over me. Whether it was his choice of words when he addressed me, or the fact that his presence in the castle made me uneasy I was not sure. Lady Alice, however, was swept away in the occasion. The morning following the feast, the King called his sister to a meeting with Emrys. The princess refused to disclose much of her encounter and I did not press, yet since that moment she had not stopped talking about him.

One evening, we were sat in my Lady's chamber and I was combing her long, dark hair through for bed in amicable silence. I bit my lip, unsure whether to raise the question that had been haunting me since the night of the feast. Deciding that I needed to share some of my concerns I spoke up, clearing my throat nervously. "My Lady -" I began only to be cut off by her, "Alice." She said matter-of-factly. "When will you begin to just call me Alice? We have known each other since we were children playing together in the nursery!" She exclaimed, but I merely sighed, this had been a frequent argument of ours over the years.

"And for all that time you have been a princess and I, your subject. It's expected, my Lady."

Lady Alice rolled her eyes growling under her breath in exasperation. "If I was not so tired I would argue this out with you."

Suddenly she sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. I shifted, unnerved by the devilish gleam that appeared in her crystal blue eyes. "As your Lady, Princess and member of the royal family I demand that you call me by my given name. Only."

I opened my mouth to protest, but there was little that could be done upon her order. A formal demand by a member of the royal family had to be followed it at all possible. "Only in private." I finished lamely, unhappy to completely play to her whim but unable to deny her the wish.

Alice smiled triumphantly. "So, what were you going to say Bella?"

Placing the comb on the table, I followed Alice to where she sat on her bed. Absent mindedly I fiddled with the threads of the bed cloth. "What do you know about the legend of Olwen?"

The princess let out a big sigh as she thought, flopping backwards on her bed, her long black hair fanning about her. "Not a lot. There isn't much on her aside from that she is supposed to be a mortal who loved Emrys." We were silent then as we both pondered the story of Olwen. "I wonder if that legend is true too, since Emrys is real?" She questioned thoughtfully turning her head to me, her blue eyes glistening with enthused mystery.

"You think it's him?" My stomach clenched even tighter. If that man was really Emrys then what was the significance of him calling me Olwen. Was it a mistake? Had I misheard him?

Alice smiled knowingly. "Without a doubt. He just knows things and the things he showed me…" She trailed off; awestruck and lost within her own thoughts and memories of her time with him. She frowned then, "If Olwen did exist, imagine what it must be like to have lost the love of your life and then endure the whole of existence without them."

I too collapsed back on her bed as we lay in silence together. Two young girls, unable to marry for love, their lives planned out by their fathers, or in Alice's case, her brother. "At least they knew what love was like." I finished sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The town market was a hive of activity. I wove through the cobbled street dodging horses and carts as I looked for a stall selling the finest thread. Alice had managed to rip another dress, but with the arrival day of a new shipment of thread unknown, I needed to darn the dress until I could make a new one with the expensive cloth from the shipment.

The clang of metal rang out next to the impatient stamp of the horses tethered outside the forge. The smell of melting metal drifted across the stands, mingling with the smell of roasting pig from the butchers. We were on the edge of spring, the winter weather giving way to warmer days and fresh winds. The icy season was not yet willing to release us, and it was a cooler day. I wrapped my thick woolen coat tighter about me against the bitter wind. The spring sun shone, but it was not yet strong enough to overcome the wind chill. Plus it was slowly sinking in the sky as the day ebbed on.

I had passed many thread stands whose reels were too thick and coarse. There was only one stand left and I hoped old lady Cope would still have some suitable thread. I was in luck.

"Seen much of that wizard young Bella?" She asked as she handed me my purchase.

I smiled, "No Shelly. It seems he keeps himself to himself."

The older, portly lady nodded slowly. "Well you take care of yourself. Are you visiting your father today? He would love to see you. Complains he doesn't see his daughter half as much as he wants any more."

"I know Mrs Cope, I am visiting him now." I bade the older lady farewell and began to make my way to my father's easterly cottage. My mother had been a servant in the castle and it was through her that I ended up playing with Lady Alice as children. Yet, when I was 8, my mother died but with the bond between Alice and I already formed and my mother's good reputation within the castle, King Carlisle decreed that I stay on to become one of Alice's ladies in waiting. It is a position usually only filled by nobles, yet the queen found our friendship endearing and the rule was dropped on that occasion. It meant, however, that my father continued to live alone. I visited him as often as I could, bringing him the better foodstuffs the palace possessed. It was not often that the poor got fish.

From the age of 6 I had been betrothed to Jacob Black. He was a fellow peasant and my father's apprentice. We were due to marry a few years after I became a lady in waiting, but my father postponed it in the hope that Alice would release me from service to return home, marry and tend to Jake and our house. Noble ladies had servants to look after children and their house. Being a peasant still, I did not have that luxury.

Alice had yet to release me and I was unsure of her reasons to keep me in the palace but it was a double-edged sword. I was growing old, regarded an old maid by most. Girls were usually married off by the age of 14 but I was 19 and unmarried still. If it was not for Jacob waiting for me, I would become undesirable to a future husband and such a thought concerned my father.

Slipping in the door of his tiny, rundown house, I called out to him. The cottage had only 2 rooms, an area to sleep and an area to cook. It was small, but no smaller than any other peasant house. My father was carving a small wooden statue beside the fire and looked up, smiling as I came in. "Bella!" He put his carving down and walked over, pulling me into a hug. I clung to him. As much as I was used to our time apart, I was uncharacteristically close to my father for the social norm. "How are things in the castle? Staying out of trouble?" He had asked me this every time I visited since I was a small child playing with Alice.

"Of course, Father." I hummed, appeasing him.

"So, is it true Emrys is in the castle?" I rolled my eyes. It was becoming tedious how many people asked that question, but news travelled slowly and was subject to rumours causing people to seek confirmation on what they had heard.

"Seemingly so. I do not know whether to believe it is him. The King and princess believe it is though."

My father nodded slowly, taking in what I was saying. "I wonder what Siobhan will make of it?"

Siobhan was an elderly lady some believed to be a witch. She came from a distant land with many tales and legends. She was well loved within the community, but with word reaching the town about witches being drowned and burned, it had begun to make some of the townspeople fearful of her.

"I wonder." I hummed softly, my mind already mulling over an idea.

Some time later I slipped from my father's house. I had fed him lunch and left him eating well. It was getting dark, but I was not needed in the castle as Lady Alice had granted me an afternoon off whilst another of the ladies in waiting took over my duties. Following the torchlights, I negotiated the dark street and its litter of mud and animal dung before reaching Siobhan's little house before the night fell completely. I knocked on the makeshift wooden door. I could see light pouring out from large gaps between the wooden slats and then a figure moving slowly through the light. Finally the door opened a crack and the old lady peered inhospitably out at me. "Who is there?"

"It's Isabella Swan. Charles Swan's daughter." I spoke loudly so she could hear me, She had begun losing her hearing over a decade ago and I worried she would not be able to hear much at all now.

"Bella." She hummed, drawing my name out on her tongue, as if testing how it sounds. "Come in." She opened the door further and beckoned me in. The little room she had for a house was cold, but she was wrapped up in thick clothes ready for the nighttime chill. "What brings you here my dear?" I sat in a rickety old wooden chair, barely daring to sit down incase it crumpled in its attempt to hold me. I glanced about the room, there were jars with various strange objects in them and scripts of paper lay about the room with writing on them. Spells maybe?

Casting my gaze away from the potentially incriminating paper, I began with my reason for visiting her. "What do you know of the tale of Olwen?" The old lady smiled knowingly, her wild gray hair framing her frail face. "So many have asked me about so many legends since Emrys decided to come here." Her gnarled fingers danced over the table, moving objects as they went. It was only then that I realized Siobhan had become nearly blind. "Tell me Bella, what do you know of the tale of Olwen?"

"Only what Lady Alice has told me. I knew there was a legend about her and then Alice said she was a mortal girl in love with Emrys."

Siobhan nodded, "And he loved her." She confirmed. "So they say. Why the interest in Olwen and not the tales of Emrys, child?"

I paused, ruminating over my thoughts, "Well, I am sure Emrys' stories will come to light in court as he tells them."

"You don't believe its him." She concluded from my tone.

"I do not know. Maybe only time will tell."

"You want proof before you believe."

"Yes." I murmured.

"Well, if it is him, I hope you are not too surprised. Magic is not always well received." She added darkly and I knew she had already fallen victim to accusations of witchcraft.

"Not even if it comes from a great sorcerer of legend?"

She laughed huskily, "Child, if you are going to welcome him only if he proves himself with magic, then why not welcome him now. He may be unwilling to prove himself in such a way. People change when they are afraid, Isabella." She rose from the table. "It is late. Come back to me when you have decided to believe that man is be the great Emrys. Until then, if they remain mere legends to you, there is no need to know of the tale of Olwen."

With that she pushed me out the door. "Return to the castle carefully. It's a fine night for criminals. Keep to the east wall." Siobhan shut her door with a snap leaving me feeling unfulfilled and more confused as to why that man, Emrys, called me Olwen. Surely it was a mistake?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Obedient to Siobhan's suggestion, I stuck to the east wall, grateful each time I slipped into the glow of a lit torch. It was so late by then that the streets were nearly silent. I had not realized how much time I had spent talking to old Siobhan… Hearing a noise behind me and with her warning of criminals in my head, I rushed on. The great east wall of the castle guided me round towards the entrance and I clutched my thread purchases as I hurried to reach it. I glanced behind me but the path was clear. Passing the guards at the main portcullis gate, I had never been more pleased to reach the outside courtyard and only then did I slow. The outside courtyard surrounded the keep where the royal family and servants lived and stretched out to the castle walls. It was large and open and primarily stone paved. There were grassy areas to the left and right of the main steps up to the keep's grand entrance. The only lights out there were from large torches on the walls and sides of the keep but it was safe none-the-less; fortified and guarded.

Walking across the open to the door of Alice's wing, I noticed a dark figure sat in the shadows, an instrument clutched to them as they plucked out a melody. I knew the sound of the instrument from the feast and slowed as I passed. I glanced at the man, hoping to see the ensnaring green eyes. I did not realize I had stopped until he spoke over the music, "It's dangerous to be out at this time, even in the castle walls."

I licked my lips, a nervous habit, "I am sorry and sorry to disturb you." I turned to leave and had hurried only two strides before I heard him laugh lightly. I stopped again turning to face him. He was now stood, his black cloak hanging in a thick drape from his broad shoulders. "No, You did not disturb me. I am more concerned about your safety. You should not be stopping to talk to strangers in the dark. No matter how beautiful the music. That is how siren's lure men to them."

More legends. "But you are not a sea-nymph and I am not a man." I answer carefully.

He chuckled and his voice was deep and warm. Tingles rocked through my body and I could not bear to look at his hooded figure to I lowered my eyes to my feet. My hair cascaded forwards in gentle, persistent waves to cover the sides of my face. It was longer than I normally had it, I would have to ask another lady in waiting to cut it.

"No, but the warning is still the same." He replied in a voice as smooth as velvet and still amused.

"Even if it is based on a myth?" I challenged looking back up at him and barely swallowed my gasp. His hood was down and piercing green eyes were on me. It was indeed the musician from the feast; I had known from the instrument and the music. I would have been glad to see him again, but what rocked me to my foundations was that this man's hair was bronze, his jaw sharp and his cheekbones defined. "Emrys." I whispered to myself so softly. If he heard, he never gave any indication as he began walking towards me. His head tilted and his eyes narrowed on me.

"You have trouble with that, don't you? Believing in the reality of legends." His voice was harder, frustrated and angry in equal measure. He was so close now and I could feel a tingle in his presence. A power and grace radiated from him and washed over me. My skin tingled with its touch. Everything about him was shadows and darkness and I could feel a power in him that made me uneasy. He was like a predator, a lion, as he approached and I was the meek rabbit caught within his unwavering gaze.

Tentatively a small part of my mind confirmed the legend despite I whispered, "Yes."

His hand lifted to the sides of my face and I jumped as vines of electricity crackled from his fingers to my cheek like lightening to the ground. I expected the pain and burn but I felt nothing but a heated tingle where his fingers caressed my cheek and jaw. My eyes were tightly shut now suddenly fearful of this man they called Emrys. "Why do you fear me, Olwen?" His green eyes so verdant compared to the plain brown of my own.

"My name is Bella." I swallowed around my name as I felt his proximity. He smelled better than any man and I felt myself weaken beneath the enticing scent. Emblazoned across my eyelids was his face. Even in the shadows it was smooth perfection; like marble with the strength he radiated. His beauty was transcendent.

He drew back, "Then call me Edward." My eyes snapped open. A simple name and another confusing piece of the puzzle I longed to solve.

"So you're not Emrys." I took a step back and breathed a sigh of relief when he stayed where he was.

"I never said that." A wave of frustration rolled through me but was lost in the tide of emotions that engulfed my body at that moment.

"Then why call you Edward?" My head tilted, my eyes reading his face as confusion settled itself deep into my core.

"That is my name. It's what they call me when they are not looking for Emrys."

"I- I don't understand." His jaw clenched and the torches flickered nearly going out before bursting into flame again, feeding off his emotions. I took a step back unnerved.

"It's myths. It is easier to tell a story when the subject has a name that has a greater meaning. It helps people understand and remember." His voice was curt, his patience with me clearly growing thin.

"Then what shall I call you?"

His gaze tethered me. Its hold suffocated and breathed so much life and energy into my body at once that I feel undone. He is silent for so long before, almost with sadness, he murmurs, "Edward."

I nod, but he had become distant, his eyes blankly consumed by thought. "Very well. Goodnight, Edward." I turned slowly, feeling those green eyes on my back as I walked for the door. I tried the handle, once, twice but it was locked. My frustration and need to get out of the situation built and I tried the door a third time, more frantically than the last and still it did not budge. I dropped my hands, my fingers clenched with the needs to escape and flee. Then I heard him murmur a word I cannot understand. I glance to him and his speaks louder.

"Try the door again." His voice is clear that time and I do, it clicks open with ease. I cast him a last tentative glance as I enter the main castle and he is still stood where I left him, his hood down, his face ethereally beautiful. The door closes behind me and I head the weighty click of the lock and know it's him.

"Goodnight Emrys." I whisper, before running up the stairs to my chamber.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

In the weeks that followed I seemed to see Emrys everywhere and attempted to avoid him at every turn. It was clear he was not trying to search me out since he was with King most times I saw him, yet that thought did little to ease my nerves. Part of me still failed to believe that he was Emrys, yet another part had seen more than enough proof of his magic. The man had an unearthly power about him, so tangible that I could feel it upon my skin when he drew close. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before and the mere memory awoke the shivers I felt that night.

There had been a steady stream of the ill and needy drifting by the West entrance of the castle wall where they were assessed and the worst brought in to see Edward. Over time it was becoming more and more apparent that this man truly was Emrys for the weak and lame were walking away well and fit. What confused me most, however, was how he possessed such a modern name. He was supposedly born before names were even made, so why call himself Edward?

I tried to let my thoughts settle and distracted myself with sewing. I was making a new dress for Alice with some fine blue cloth that had come in on a shipment. To my left was some cloth that Alice had encouraged me to take in order to make my own smart dress. I worked on it on my days off and slowly, thread by thread, it was coming together. I glanced across to where the partly made dress lay and sighed wistfully. It would be nice to have a dress that has not been torn or dirtied by work.

I heard a commotion in the courtyard below and rose to peer through the small window of my chamber. A dozen or so horses were gathered with hunting tack on. The King was seated upon one and a younger boy I recognized as Seth, was upon another. Seth was my cousin and a stable hand for the King. I knew he had ambitious aims of proving himself worthy of becoming a knight. Despite my attempts, and those of my aunt and uncle. Seth would not be dissuaded from his goal. It pained me, but even Seth knew that knighthoods were only for the rich and noble.

Finally Sir Jasper came out and mounted a third. He passed a hunting bow each to Seth and the King and together the three of them set off through the gates followed by the other nine riders. I could hear Lady Alice calling irately after them, but no one seemed to hear her.

A few minutes after the party had gone Lady Alice stormed through my door, "I cannot believe it! I told them there is a storm coming but they did not listen and now with Emmett's passion for hunting they will be out for hours and will likely get stuck in the marshes or a chill!" She fumed. I smiled as I listened to her passionate rant. Alice had a penchant for predicting things and she was usually right. I was honestly surprised the King did not heed her warning.

"There is little any of us can do now." I reasoned lightly, putting my sewing to the side.

The princess flopped down on my bed looking defeated. "I know. I don't really care if my brother gets stuck out in the foul weather… It's Sir Jasper, I worry about." I laughed, for Sir Jasper was about as resilient as the King, if not a little more weather hardy.

It seemed Alice's prediction was right, for only a few hours later the rain began to fall. The sky was a moody grey, dark clouds amassing in the distance that grumbled and churned. Fortunately the weather was slow moving and it wasn't until the mid afternoon that the storm set in. As it began to set upon the castle, the great portcullis rose with a loud shout as the hunting party returned. Alice and I rose from where she had been sat drawing and I had been cleaning her shoes. Ten riders were gathered, but none of them were the King or Seth. Jasper shouted to the guards as he got off his horse clutching his side. Servants and guards arrived and began leading all the horses away whilst a stable boy brought a fresh horse out.

Realizing what was to happen, Alice and I ran down to the keep's steps. Stopping at the top of them we watched Jasper as he mounted the fresh horse.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Emrys trotting round from the stables, his winter cloak billowing over the horse's quarters. He stopped next to Jasper and they exchanged heated words. Jasper was adamant, shaking his head defiantly, the blonde curls that Alice loved so, dark and sopping as they clung to his rain soaked face. Finally he dismounted, wincing as he landed. Immediately Alice was running down the steps towards him and I remained, still too shocked and unsure what to do. Wrapping her arm about him, Lady Alice began to help Sir Jasper towards the entrance of the keep, as they approached, I noticed the large, dark red stain on his side and the hole in cotton shirt. My blood ran cold and my heart leapt into my throat.

Emrys was shouting for Jasper's care whilst he was gone. My heart raced, I could not stand by whilst my cousin was out somewhere ill, wounded or taken. I looked across to Alice as I began slowly walking down the steps. Just as she was passing through the main doors, she looked back and silently we stared at each other. Knowing what I was about to do and both worried for the King and Seth, she nodded.

I ran and taking the reins of the horse they brought for Jasper. "Lady Alice wants me to go with Emrys." The servant looked hesitant before cautiously letting go of the reins. I thanked God for the obedience of servants to the monarchy. "Help me up! Quickly!" I exclaimed as I lifted one hand to the horse's neck and the other to the back of the saddle. Once on, I turned the horse, in time to see the tail of Emrys' stallion taking off through the castle gates. I gave the horse a kick and it burst into a canter, I was fortunate to have learnt to ride with Alice as a child. Together we had become enjoyed exploring the forest together, jumping logs and daring to ride like men with a leg on either side of the saddle. I hoisted the skirt of my dress up higher as the gelding raced after Emrys to allow my legs to sit more easily abreast the horse.

Cantering after him, I urged the horse faster into a gallop down the muddied track from the castle to the forestry. The horse sped up, its instinct to catch the other taking over as we flew after Emrys. Hearing the thundering of hooves, he glanced behind and pulled his horse up suddenly. Pulling on the rain slicked reins I only just managed to stop mine next to him. The horses danced and span impatiently, feeding off the stressful energy, "What the hell are you doing?!" Edward shouted irately.

"Coming with you." I answered breathlessly. "Alice and my cousin are out there. We cannot leave them." The rain was pelting and already my hair was soaked. My horse tossed his head impatiently, his white coat already turning gray in the damp.

"You will catch a chill or worse. Get back to the castle, Olwen." Steam rose from Edward's horse as it span, its eyes wide and keen in the wind and rain.

"No. I won't leave them. Lady Alice told me to come." I lifted me chin defiantly, but blanched as a flash of lightning ripped across the sky with a deafening crack of thunder. My horse spooked and I only just managed to get it under control as it skittered beneath me. Sure that if I attempted to restrain the horse any more, I would lose, I gave it the reins and it leapt forward toward the forest. Rain pelted my eyes as we bolted towards the forest, but I knew if I could get there, the less chance Emrys had of sending me home. I could hear his horse gaining on mine, and I urged mine faster until we flew into the mouth of the forest.

"Bella! For God's sake stop!" I glanced at him over my shoulder, "You don't even know where you are going!" I reluctantly slowed, knowing he was right, I had no idea and at this speed the horse was going to break a leg on the uneven forest floor. Emrys drew level, his green eyes blazing with fury, his hair soaked and in wild disarray. My own hair was stuck to my forehead and steam rose from our mounts in the chill air.

"I can't leave him." I begged, wiping at the rain as it dripped into my eyes hiding the tears that were beginning to fall. "Please, Emrys."

He hesitated seeing my distress, "Fine. Stay close." With that he urged the horse on into a faster trot and I sent mine after him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The constant drip and patter of raindrops through the evergreen trees rang out about us. The air was filled with the scent of wet moss and earth and the horses assumed a more wary gate through the sodden ground. High above, thunder rocked the sky and lightning lit the forest as far as I could see. For the second time today my heart beat within my mouth as I worried for my cousin and my King.

Emrys and I rode side by side, Edward altering his gaze between the path we were on, the trees and shrubbery around us and deep into the brush ahead. It was clear to see from the churned up ground which way the hunt had set off and then the way some had returned.

I stroked my horse's steel gray neck to calm his nerves as much as my own. I had seen the horse around before and know it was a favorite ride of Sir Jasper's. I hoped I would not be punished to taking his steed and not another. For now, however, my concerns rested only with Seth and King Emmett.

I kept my horse close to Edward's, his large cloak black with the damp, fading him to nothing but a shadow. I blinked, the flashes of light and dark confusing my eyes and I begged internally for a lamp with which to light the way. Suddenly Emrys stopped, his eyes alternating between a number of broken branches and further along the path we were on. He closed his eyes, appearing to ponder and a frown marred his features. Suddenly his eyes opened and he swung his horse to the right, cutting mine up as he pushed his way through the broken bushes.

I urged my horse after him, keeping as silent as Edward, even as the thorny bushes we broke through ripped through my damp dress and cut my legs. I longed to speak, to ask questions about how he knew where to go, yet I dared not. I listened for any sound above the rain that might hint to Seth and the King's whereabouts but heard nothing.

We wove this way and that through the woods, stepping over broken boughs and ducking under low hanging branches. We were immersed within the heart of the forest, the path behind us lost in a sea of misty trees. The storm had passed, dusk falling and I shivered, finally feeling the cold as dread began to settle into my bones. We negotiated a downhill slope, just steep enough for the horses to tackle and emerged on a path. Immediately Edward turned his horse left and I barely had to move my icy fingers on the reins for Jasper's horse to follow.

Despite my best attempts, my teeth chattered and I began to shake against the cold in my wet clothes. Edward slowed his horse, unclasping the neck of his cloak he removed it and passed it to me. "Here, you will catch a cold if you haven't already. I would rather you didn't die yet." He offered a bleak half-smile and I took the thick coat with a murmur of thanks and my cheeks flushed. The inside was warm and dry and smelled divine. I found myself burying into the comfort of it for Edward's scent was sweet and earthy and so alluring. I had not met a man who smelled as good and found the question upon my tongue before I could stop myself.

"Who is your father?"

I saw the tense set of Edward's shoulders as he registered my question. I urged my horse on to draw level with his and Edward remained fixated on the path ahead. "Who my father is should be of no worry to you Isabella." He deflected after a moment of silence. Unwilling to be deterred, my interest already piqued by his evasion, I questioned more directly.

"Is he an incubus?"

Edward scoffed, "You chose a time like this to question me on my parents?" He turned, his eyes nearly black in the low light and suitably admonished I looked to the ground.

Suddenly a figure scrambled down the embankment and stumbled out onto the path ahead of our horses.

"Bella!" I heard Seth's voice shout and I threw myself from the saddle, dragging the horse behind me as I ran to my cousin and pulled him into a relieved hug. Edward's cloak drowned us both as I clutched the young boy to me, fighting tears of relief. Turning from my embrace Seth pointed up the embankment before looking back to Edward. "The king is up there, I fear he is mortally wounded. He is hardly breathing and so cold. They shot him… the archer came from nowhere. I got him to shelter but I didn't know what else to do…" His words bled together in a rush of relief and anxiety.

Dismounting, his face grim, Edward indicated for Seth to show us the way as he swiftly removed a cloth bag from his horse's saddle. Together we climbed the slippery embankment and despite I grasped branches and exposed roots for balance, my foot still slipped. I would have fallen but Edward grasped my arm in a tight grip before I could, his eyes furious. We shared a silent exchange through which I kept my gaze defiant. I was confused by his anger towards me, the way his emotions towards me deviated so fast that I could barely keep up. I snatched my arm back and scrambled up the slope with renewed vigor, refusing to fall victim to the whiplash of his personality.

Oblivious to our exchange, Seth had reached the top and was stood nervously. As we breached the top of the slope, I saw the still form of King Emmett, the long wooden shaft of an arrow protruding ominously from his left chest. Hurrying to his side, Edward lowered his cheek to just above the king's mouth.

"He is breathing… just." Turning to where Seth and I stood, he ordered me to open his bag for a knife. Then, one hand bracing the king's chest, he rose to his knees, and with the other grasped the shaft of the arrow and sharply pulled it out. I cringed at the sound and the sight of blood on the weapon. Edward inspected it before throwing it to the side, "Did you not think to remove the arrow?" He spat at Seth who stood by nervously wringing his hands. I glanced to my cousin, face crestfallen and distraught. "It's poisoned. How long ago was he shot?" Edward continued furiously.

"A few hours." Seth murmured softly, his voice never sounding so childlike and lost.

"You could have killed him by not removing it! Might still kill him if I cannot work out what this poison is." Edward continued on oblivious, or uncaring of the boy's remorse.

"Edward. He is young." I scolded, whilst casting my cousin a sympathetic look.

"Anyone aspiring to fight for his kingdom should know basic care of the wounded." He challenged me, his eyes blazing and his voice dangerously low as he looked up from the wound.

"He has not yet started training. You cannot expect him to know such things. He brought the king to shelter and away from the path. That is enough." I thrust the knife towards him refusing to be intimidated. He glanced at the knife and then into my eyes again, before silently he took the instrument from me.

Picking up the arrow he smelled the arrowhead. Without apology, he ordered Seth away in search of certain plants and the boy disappeared into the darkening brush.

"He will get lost in this light." I worried.

"He won't." He stated blandly without looking up from where he cut the King's shirt and leather breastplate away. "Pass me the water."

I reached for the leather flask, passing it to Edward as I got a good look at the wound. Blue veins stemmed like a web from the arrow's bloodied entry point and the skin circling it was a sickly cyan. The king's face, usually full of colour and vibrance, was wan, his lips nearly blue and his skin waxy. My teeth bit into my lip, fear suddenly filling me for the king's survival.

My heart fell and Edward looked up as if sensing my fears, his face softer. For the first time our exchange was not one of anger, fear, frustration or defiance but compassion. "I won't let him die." He promised as a single tear rolled down my cheek. I realized I could potentially not only mourned my king's loss, but Alice's too and a boy I had played with as a child.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Whilst Seth was gone and Edward was cleaning King Emmett's entry wound with water, I set about attempting to find wood to start a fire. With all the rain that had fallen, every bit of wood I came across was damp or rotten. Finally though, I managed to find what drier pieces I could. Gathering them in Edward's cloak I took them back and dropped them near to where Emmett lay. Once lit, I hoped the fire would be able to keep us all warm.

A few minutes after I returned, Seth came back too. Edward nodded as Seth presented the correct plants. Removing a pot from his bag and with my cousin preparing the leaves, Edward ground them down into a green paste using a stone and water. With the paste prepared, he spread it over the king's wound before placing more leaves over the top to seal it.

I continued working on the fire, having discarded Edward's cloak to put over King Emmett and ward off the cold. Using a flat piece of wood I cut a groove into it with a sharp stone and then taking a long stick between my hands, I rubbed the end into the circular groove. Thin tendrils of smoke plumed repeatedly but failed to catch. I rubbed until my hands were raw and darkness was drowning us but still the damp warded off any fire. Finally Seth came over, offering to take over, but before he had a chance Edward murmured unintelligibly and the nest of kindling I had created burst into flame.

Seth turned to him stunned, barely able to comprehend the creation of fire from nothing. Awkward and clearly unsure what to say, he shuffled back over to where Edward was seated beside the king, shaving the ends of a stick into a sharp point with the blade of the knife.

"How does he fare?" Seth asked awkwardly sitting on the other side of the injured monarch.

"Not well. We can only rest here tonight and hope the herbs do well. In the morning we can look for leeches if there is no improvement."

I gasped as I sat down next to Edward. "You think we will need to let his blood?"

"If the herbs cannot draw the toxins of the poison out, then yes. Putting them around the wound will help remove the poisoned blood. I hope that the herbs are enough for now at least." King Emmett's face was ashen in the firelight, his large body so still he seemed almost seemed dead. I had never seen the king so vulnerable and my thoughts drifted back to the castle.

"The Queen and Ladies Alice and Esme must be so worried." I lamented and beside me Edward nodded, silent in his musings.

A short while later he ordered us to rest whilst he took watch initially. It was arranged that Seth would watch in the early hours to allow Edward rest too. I slept fitfully, lying close to my cousin and the fire so we could ward off the cold. After only a couple of hours I stirred awake. I could see Edward's profile next to the fire and found myself watching him as he watched the fire; its flames glittering in his green eyes. Being so close to him as I had been earlier, his scent was so much stronger, and so much more unique than the scent of any man I had come across. His features were much more defined and more perfect than any man. His beauty was ethereal in its handsomeness and seemed to transcend the mortal and again I pondered the tales surrounding this man, Emyrs.

After some time, I rose from my cousin's side and moved to sit next to Edward. He barely moved as I sat beside him, his scent engulfing me instantly and encouraging me to sit closer.

"You should be resting." His voice was husky, whether with sleep depravation or lack of use over the last few hours, I was unsure.

I nodded silently, "I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"Both." I answered honestly and was rewarded with a crooked smirk.

"Are you warm now?"

"Nearly." I pressed a hand against the still damp sleeve of my ragged, dirty dress. Edward's eyes swept over me, from the wildness of my hair, to the cut of my dress about my torso and down to where my scratched shins and ankles peeked out from the tattered hem of my skirt. With another murmur from Edward, the fire swelled in answer and a shiver rocked its way through my body. I was unsure whether it was because of Edward's perusal or the increase in heat; I leant more towards the former.

"How does a mortal man get such power?" I questioned, trying a different tack on my earlier question, unable to let my curiosity go.

"What power? These are just simple party tricks." He gestured to the fire. His voice was soft, more welcoming than during any of our previous conversations.

"Do not play me for a fool Edward. They might only be party tricks to you, but to everyone else they are a power of the Gods." I continued, taking advantage of his current serenity, until he decided to cut me down more directly.

He merely smiled and I longed to know his thoughts. "I would never play you for a fool, Olwen."

"You just did."

"I did not, what power do you think I have?"

I frowned, "The power to heal, to control the elements, they say you are a great warrior. I don't know…" I sighed confused and feeling the beginning waves of frustration. "You won't tell me."

"What point was there in telling you? You didn't believe me."

"I do now." I paused watching him closely, but his beautiful face was as impassive as a statue. "Are you mortal?"

"Yes." He lingered over the word, his answer clearly incomplete.

I waited but knowing he was closing down on me again, I begged him with a soft, "Please, Emrys."

His gaze snapped to me and I felt like I was pinned by a hawk, "Do not play that card with me, Bella." He nearly snarled, dragging us back to the terms I had forced us to use for each other before and blindsiding me with his sudden temper.

"But you can call me Olwen as you see fit without me knowing why?" I rose frustrated and angry. Edward's eyes flitted to my cousin but he remained peacefully asleep. Turning, I stormed away from the fire and into the woods.

"Bella!" Edward hissed after me, but I kept on going, desperate to get away from the infuriating man, wizard… whatever he was.

I had only gone a few yards from the fire before he appeared in front of me suddenly. Startled I staggered back, my heel catching on a root causing me to fall but Edwards hands snapped out ensnaring my wrists.

As soon as I had my balance, I shoved him away, "No mortal is capable of such speed!" I hissed angrily as he staggered back from the force.

His eyes look more alight than I had seen them this evening. "I am not mortal." He conceded contradicting his earlier words before correcting with a wary, "Not entirely."

"Then what are you?" I hissed again attempting to keep my voice low so as not to disturb my cousin.

"Immortal, undying."

"I do not need to know the definitions of your name, iEmrys./i" I drew out his name advancing to push him again. My emotions were high, the fear of the daytime drawing me into a frustrated anger that he seemed to fuel to effortlessly. Edward grasped my hands before I could push. I glanced at his hands as they restrained me and glared pointedly at him, "Then tell me what you are."

"I am a cambion. I have been many things over the years; a wizard, a war leader…" He ground out, his voice strained and his eyes wary as he watched me as if expecting a common reaction to his confession.

Instead, relieved by his confession, I wilted against him, my forehead resting against the cotton of his shirt. With the exhaustion of the day and the effort required to get one small piece of information from him I gratefully took whatever information about him he would give me.

Edward released my wrists, his arms wrapping about me as he held me in my exhaustion, his lips pressing against the crown of my head. Within his embrace, his scent made my knees feel weak and only made me yearn to be closer to him still. My mind grew hazy with his proximity and my lack of sleep.

"And Olwen?" I asked, softly, sure I was pushing my luck with getting more information from him tonight and too weak to argue when he chuckled and merely replied with, "You just forget everything don't you?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next morning I awoke to the sound of sizzling meat. Seth was sat before the fire proudly roasting a pair of rabbits over a spit and Edward was nowhere to be seen so I rose and slowly walked over to sit next to Seth. He beamed at me. "Caught them myself this morning. Seemed I learnt something before the hunting trip became a disaster."

I smiled and nudged his side gently in encouragement. None of us had eaten the night before. We had all been too concerned with tending to the king and then it was too dark to consider hunting or foraging for food.

"It will be another few minutes." I rose to see the king as breakfast finished being prepared. He was still pale but there was some colour in his cheeks and his lips were pink at least. I wanted to remove the leaves to see how the wound fared but I dared not without Edward.

"Emrys is looking for more plants and some leeches. He thinks letting some blood from the wound will help hasten the king's recovery." Seth seemed to answer my internal musings. Sitting down beside the king my mind drifted to the night before last and Edward's forced confession.

A cambion was, as legend had it, a child of an incubus and a human woman. An incubus, through his incredible beauty, lured and had sex with women. Repeated encounters with an incubus could lead to a woman's ill health or death. I was not sure of the effects of letting a cambion lie with you, but I pledged to not let myself get near that situation.

Cambions were devilishly cunning and angelically beautiful, something they gained from their demonic father. Cambion's also had the ability to get even the most strong-hearted to do their bidding. I bit my lip as I pondered the times I had been with Edward and felt of the attraction that came over me. The inability I had to pull away… was that his thrall? Or was that my susceptibility to his good looks? All I knew was that he was a potentially dangerous weapon, even if most of the legends paint him as a creature of good deeds.

When Edward returned I was still lost with my thoughts of incubi and cambions. I had become more wary of him now than I ever had been. I watched him from where I sat, observing the beauty of his skin, his strong, angelic appearance and the bronze hair that gleamed in the dappled light of the sunlit forest. I wondered what it would be like to touch - like gold thread, silken, or thick and lustrous? I blinked, suddenly lost in sensational ideas that did not gel nicely with my previous pledge to remain unaffected.

Swiftly I turned from him to King Emmett wetting a cloth that Edward had laid out the night before. Immersing it in the cleaned paste bowl, I wrung the cloth before gently placing it across the king's brow. His eyes twitched at the contact and I smiled calling Edward over to show him.

Leaving Seth tending to the preparation of the rabbits, he joined me lightly touching the king's eyelids and seemed satisfied when King Emmett tried to flinch away. Removing the leaves, the satisfied look left Edward's face.

"It is still toxic. We will need to let some blood in order to stop the poison spreading." Taking his bag, he removed a jar of two dozen leeches. I shuddered having seen my fair share of blood letting in the past. It seemed to work well but it was unpleasant to witness. Slowly he placed each of the leeches about the wound. They lay like over fed worms before rising like a snake and seeming to sniff out the best site to bite before each one latched onto the skin surrounding the king's wound.

Over time the small little brown worm-like creatures grew to the size of bloated slugs before slipping off the king's chest leaving bleeding marks in their wake.

"How much would they have taken?"

Edward picked each leech up replacing them in the jar where now they barely fitted. "About a jug full. Enough to have removed the remaining poison. We are lucky it was slow acting. Whoever shot him did not aim to kill or they were inexperienced. I take it more as a warning." He looked back through the trees.

"Do you think they are still here?"

Edward frowned, "If they were, we would have been ambushed by now. We could not move the king in his state and they would have known that, or he and Seth would have been dead before we got to them."

Seth came over with strips of prepared meat still hot from the spit. Gratefully we all ate in silence, but I was aware that Edward's attention was not on the food he was eating. His green eyes danced around the forest, now brilliant green in the aftermath of the night's storm and the morning sun. Steam rose from the drying forest floor creating a blanket over the ground.

"What happened yesterday Seth?" Edward asked at last and I was mildly surprised he had not asked prior to this moment. Yet in the rush to save King Emmett's life such details, though important, were not pivotal.

My cousin took a deep breath, seeming to gather courage to relay the tale of yesterdays misadventures.

"I got shot?" A croaky voice sounded between us and I rose startled.

"Sire!" Seth and I gasped in unison as I dropped to my knees beside the king, my hand finding his.

"Hey Bells. You know I tell you to call me by my name." I smiled, placing my hand across his brow. It was warm for the first time since the ordeal began. The king batted my hand away unable to deal with being coddled, even as a child. "We used to play together as kids, you are more like a sister to me anyway."

Seeming to realize where he was, he glanced about then back to me. "What are you doing out here anyway? It's not a safe place for a lady to be." He cast accusing looks to Seth and then Edward who merely muttered in agreement.

I looked between my cousin and Edward, waiting for one of them to defend my being present. When no one answered I merely threw my hands up. "Fine! I shall just go back to the castle where I will be safe then. It's where you have wanted me to be all along anyway." I turned to grab my things, but having entered the forest with nothing but a horse, there was nothing to gather. I faltered before storming over and starting to scramble down the embankment in search of one of the horses we left on the path below.

I could hear someone behind me, but did not turn back to look. I heard them getting closer and it only made me hasten my descent. Skidding the last way down the slope, I fell backwards, landing on my bottom, my dress snagging on a root. I pulled, rending the material but in my rush I did not care. The horses were nowhere to be seen so I began walking swiftly along the path the way we had come the night before.

My skin tingled along my spine and I knew without looking behind me that it was Edward in pursuit. My thoughts and my fears began to play through my mind again and I walked faster. I ignored his calls and kept going. For the second time he appeared in front of me to block my path and I tried to work out whether he had actually appeared from thin air or whether he just moved so fast I could not see him.

I went to push around him but he grabbed my shoulders. "Will you stop walking away?"

"Will you stop pursuing me?" I spat back, all too affected by his proximity again and unnerved by the tingles that spread pleasantly from where he held me.

"Never."

I faltered, yet again taken aback by his vehement declaration and more than a little disconcerted. His hands held me fast and I wondered when my hands had risen to grasp his wrists in an attempt to push him away.

"Look, you cannot go back alone, you will be attacked or get lost. We don't know if the enemy is still in the forest." He continued when I failed to speak.

"I - " I began but was stopped by the sound of the castle's horn. Edward released me stepping to the side as we both looked down the path behind him. Around the bend appeared Sir Cheney with twenty or more riders behind him and a carriage. They had come in search of us. The clatter of the procession ceased as they drew level with us and Cheney dismounted his horse.

"Emrys, I am glad to find you well. Did you find the king?"

"Yes, he is up the embankment. It will take a number of us to get him down. He has been shot with a poisoned arrow. The poison has now nearly left his body but we need to get him back swiftly so Carlisle can tend to him."

Cheney nodded and summoned his men to join him. "Your horses returned in the early hours, we were not sure what had happened to you both. Queen Rosalie and Lady Esme are not fairing well and Lady Alice seems to console herself with tending to Sir Jasper. The whole kingdom will be pleased to see the king's safe return."

Inwardly I smiled knowing that despite the dire situation with her brother, Alice would be seizing the moment in caring for her knight.

Edward turned back to me as the Sir Cheney and his men began to climb the slope up to King Emmett. "Wait in the carriage until we return with the king." He paused. "Do not attempt to return alone." He appealed, pre-empting any idea that may enter my head in order to prove a woman's equality with men. With that, he turned and joined the party ascending the bank.

It was some time until they returned, carefully carrying the king down and into the carriage I vacated. With not enough space for the king and myself in the carriage I was given a horse, upon which I was commanded to sit aside and was subsequently lead. It took all I had to bite my tongue and not demand I be allowed to control the horse myself. Yet it would be deemed improper and I would do well to remember my place as a servant.

The procession made its way back to the castle in a rumble of voices, hooves and rolling wheels. I was silent for the most part, glad to be returning but furious at my treatment. Along the journey Edward drew level with me, riding in silence for some time before murmuring in amusement.

"I have never known you so subservient."

I clenched my jaw, refusing to look at him and the beautiful, infuriating smile that curled his lips. "You fight me at every turn and yet so compliantly follow the suggestions of a man servant."

I concentrated on my cousin where he sat at the front of the ride next to Sir Cheney, his delight once again at being included into the business of the army clearly visible. "Your arrogance astounds me." I snarled, narrowing my eyes at him briefly and looking away before I could be affected. It was becoming inexplicably harder each time I looked at him to remain impassive to his handsomeness.

After a few hours of travel, we were crossing the drawbridge of the castle, its stone walls a welcoming sight. Within the courtyard, stable boys and servants rushed out to take horses away and tend to their superiors. The servant leading me, whose name I had discovered to be Eric, had courteously offered to help me dismount when Edward appeared swiftly dismissing him.

"Here." Edward offered me his hand and unwilling to cause a scene I took it as his other arm wrapped about my waist and he lowered me slowly from the horse with exaggerated grace.

With my feet on the ground, his arm still about my waist and the contours of his body against mine, I fought the desire that swelled within my stomach. "Pig." I exclaimed in a harsh whisper and was rewarded by the rumble of his laugh against my back. "Only you would make a mockery of my desire to be independent."

His arm reflexively grew tighter as he lowered his lips level with my ear. "What makes you think I am mocking you?"

The low rumble of his voice, his body and his scent caused warmth to pool in the pit of my belly. My eyes closed to gain some semblance of control, "I am betrothed. I won't fall victim to your wiles." I whispered to defend myself from the emotions he was stirring within me.

He withdrew from me in silence, our exchange so fleeting it was unlikely that anyone saw us amidst the sea of horses, knights and servants. When I turned, he had gone and relieving myself of the horse, I rushed to my chamber to clean myself of the dirt that clung to my body.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_The roar of men and clang of metal met me in my sleep that night. I stirred restlessly but could not escape the dream of the battlefield I was stood upon. I was dressed in thick leather that spread across my torso and around my pelvis. My thighs were covered in a thick, pleated skirt that fell to my knees and I had thin, thong sandals on. My hair was down and swept this way and that in the strong winds that crossed the open field. It was a tangled mess, ravaged by the weather and clumped with blood, sweat and mud. The braids that had tried to hold it back had been pulled out long ago._

_Cuts littered my arms and body. Some were bleeding and others an angry red with dried blood covering them. I barely felt their sting for the adrenaline that surged through me like wildfire. Arrows whistled past my head and I looked behind me to where a line of at least one hundred archers were knelt, their eyes upon the enemy across the war-ravaged field. At the end of the line Jasper stood shouting orders to them and upon his command another sheet of arrows whistled over my head._

_A nearby scream sounded familiar and I turned to see Ben Cheney fall to his knees, his fingers clutching a deep wound at his side. In an instant I was running across the field and into the fray of battle. I had been in and out of it for many hours now escaping on many occasions with just a cut. I dared not count my luck. Kneeling down next to the fallen soldier, I took a flask of alcohol from my pocket, pouring it over the wound to the sound of his agonized screams. Suddenly Ben grabbed my arm tightly his eyes widening as he looked behind me. I turned, grabbing the hilt of the sword that hung at my hip. Unsheathing it in one swoop, I lifted it, meeting the enemy's with a resounding clang. The shockwaves rattled through the iron swords, hurting my wrist, but grim determination kept the crazed man from killing myself or Ben._

_In a swift motion the man lifted his sword, sweeping it around in a large arc and bringing it down towards my side. I parried still on my knees, digging the tip of my blade into the bloodstained dirt to block the swipe to my side. Again the sharp blades met with a resounding clang and piercing scrape. Grabbing a handful of dirt, I threw it up into his eyes to buy time to get to my feet and I was barely there before he had removed the dirt and lunged for me. I staggered back as his full force met mine, a rock catching my foot as I stumbled. This time there was no Edward to catch me and I fell backwards. My hand reached out to break my fall, landing on the dagger of a fallen comrade, whilst my back fell across their lifeless, bloodied chest. The cut to my palm was deep, so much so I could not work my fingers to hold my sword. The man towered over me, his expression victorious as he raised his sword for the culling blow._

_His victory was short lived as the weighty sound of a blade pushed through bone and flesh rent the air and a blood red point emerged from the center of his chest. An arm wrapped about his neck, the hand reaching for the angle of his jaw, pulling him back onto the blade before his head was turned sharply. The sickly snap of his death was swift as his limp body slid from the blade. Emrys stood behind him, his face and body as dirt ridden and bloodied as mine. Holding out a hand to me, I took it, relief filling my body as I let him pull me up._

_"What the fuck are you doing out here?" He cursed heavily. About us the battle was nearly over, the number of those dead nearly outweighing the survivors. Men were shouting to Edward awaiting orders as another wave of arrows flew overhead and shields were lifted to block the onslaught. We ducked, still clinging to each other._

_"I would not be anywhere else, Sir." I replied smiling and breathless with the effort of the battle._

_He rolled his eyes, before taking my injured hand in his, his palm covering the wound. White light shone between our hands and warmth spread across my palm. When he removed his hand, the wound was nearly gone. Looking over my torso he smirked, "You do like to challenge my healing abilities."_

_The whistle of a lone arrow was heard a fraction of a second before I felt the sharp drive of iron and wood through my chest. I fell to my knees, Edward falling with me, holding me and cursing. My eyes grew wide, unable to take anything but the shallowest of breaths. Blood pooled into my mouth and I coughed it away, but it only started to seep from my nose, blocking my airways as I tried to breathe._

_There was the sharpest pull at my back, like a claw of a lion pulling the insides of my chest outward and I opened my mouth to scream but there was no air, just a gurgled gasp. Edward threw the arrow stained with my blood aside, and as he lay me back I felt so cold. I could not feel my arms or my hands. Instead I just looked at Edward apologetically. We should have known, it was too soon; it was always to soon. I studied his beautiful face as it faded from me, the cold, wet of his tears falling on my face, a contrast to the red blood that trickled from the corner of my lips._

_"Not now Olwen. Not now." He implored me and begged me, but I was falling away from him and his voice. My breath unable to come and my heart hurting in my chest as it worked to pump around the little blood that had not left me already._

_I awoke, gasping, clutching my chest, sweat beading my forehead and ran my hand across my lips. Nothing. No blood. No arrow wound or dagger cut to my palm. Shoving the coarse blankets from my body I took a mental inventory of my legs and there was nothing but the cuts from my night in the forestry. I collapsed back onto my pillows, startled by the clarity of my dream. Sleep did not return to me for many hours that night._

Alice touched my brow with her hand. "Do you need to see Carlisle? You look terrible Bella." Her blue eyes shone with concern as I sat beside her, the task of dressing her forgotten as she beheld my sleep deprived state.

I shook my head, smiling gratefully as I held her dress up, "No. I just did not sleep well."

Alice nodded, mollified for now as she lifted her arms and I slid the dress over her head. "I am not surprised, it must have been horrible out in the forest over night. I do not know what possessed me to allow you to go after them…" She trailed off and her smile was sly and mysterious.

"What?" I questioned warily.

She shook her head still smiling. "Nothing… just that I am amazed how you manage to walk around here with such decorum and etiquette but really you are as hardy as the boldest of knights."

I blanched at her words and Lady Alice frowned. "Really, what is wrong? Did something happen in the forest?"

"No. Not at all, I just had a bad dream last night. That is all, nothing to concern yourself with my Lady."

I could tell Alice was not overly convinced but she let my evasion slide for now and nodded. "Emmett is calling the Weber's to court. He says it is ready for the feast he will hold in celebration of his survival, but I am not convinced. Sir Jasper mentioned that he is doing it as a gesture of thanks to Emrys. Emmett hopes he will take a fancy for the Lady Angela. They will be here tomorrow, so why not take a rest today as I will need you for when the Webers arrive."

I nodded, but could not help the clench of my gut at the idea of Angela being called forward as a potential match for Edward.

Before being dismissed, I helped Alice dress for the day and went to inform Olivia, another Lady in Waiting, that Alice required her. I then walked through the castle as if in a dream state, pouring over my dream. I did not know how much of it was based upon what I had witnessed in the forest, but I knew the potency of dreams and this one unsettled me deeply.

I do not know how I came to be there or when I had made the decision to go, but as I slipped into old Siobhan's little hut I longed for answers. She sat across from me wearing the same knowing, if slightly crazy, half smile she had worn before.

"So." She began when I failed to speak. "You believe it is him at last then Isabella."

I nodded before remembering her failing sight and croaked out a soft. "Yes."

"So now you want to know about Olwen." She surmised and did not wait for my answer before she hobbled across the room to pick up an old, tattered book. She leafed through the pages slowly squinting close to better read the words. Then she turned the book and slid it across the table to me.

There was a crude drawing of a girl. Her face delicate and beautiful and her hair braided and black in the pencil sketch. Her body was clad in protective leather attire, a pleated skirt hanging to her knees and a long blade at her side.

"Does that answer your question?" Old Siobhan asked after my silent study of the image.

"No." I croaked though my dry throat.

The old lady merely chuckled. "It is nothing but a curse. She is his mortal lover indeed."

"She still lives?" I surmised from her words. Surely she would refer to the girl in the past if not?

Old Siobhan merely hums, "Yes and no, child." She rubbed her thumb across her lips as she seemed to ponder how best to explain. "She was a mortal girl and always will be. Legend has it that she came from the same village at Emrys, they fell in love and she died. Since then she has returned to him countless times only to die a mortal death until she is reborn to be with him again."

"Is – is she alive now?" I asked hesitantly.

Old Siobhan sighed looking at the picture and then back to me. "I think that is a question for Emrys to answer don't you think Bella?"

My fingers trailed over the picture. What did this mean for my dream? Was it coincidence or more? I was so confused. The only answers I had could come from Emrys and that in itsself was a challenge. I still felt exhausted from our last encounter.


End file.
